The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition

Linda Gordon examines the Ku Klux Klan's explosive resurgence in the 1920s, when it transformed from a Southern vigilante group into a national mass movement with millions of members, particularly in the Midwest and Northwest. The Klan of that era targeted not only Black Americans but also Catholics, Jews, and immigrants, and it wielded significant political power through elected officials and Prohibition enforcement. Gordon argues that the 1920s Klan's blend of white nationalism, religious intolerance, and populist grievance foreshadowed elements of modern American political movements.